The rules of the Blood Games are designed to allow for fast and furious interaction, while keeping a level of simplicity necessary for an annual event where LARPers from many games will be participating.  Combat is based on established boffer fighting conventions with which most players should be quite familiar.  Please use common sense and common courtesy in the application of all rules for the Blood Games.  At all times, remember that the purpose of being at the event is to have fun!

As you might expect, the primary rule is Safety First!  We expect all participants to be on their best behavior in terms of safety in battle.  If you see someone in a potentially dangerous situation, use the call “Caution” to warn the other player, and give them a chance to disengage.

Physical contact between players, other than by weapon as defined in the combat rules, is allowed by consent only.  Do not charge into players, do not pin their weapons, do not grab their clothing, and so on.  If you see someone breaking this No-Contact Rule, politely inform them.  If a problem persists, seek out a Blood Games official.

• Body Points
• Weapons
• Armor and Shields
• Special Weapon Attacks
• Spell Casting
• Crafting
• Life Tokens and Prestige
• Safe Wards
• Character Creation
• Skills

Body Points

Battle in the Blood Games uses a simple Body Point (BP) mechanic for determining your status.

• Your character has a given number of Body Points (BP), which are based on the character’s skills and equipment.  Characters unskilled in weapon combat will have as little as 1 BP.  If you are a trained, experienced warrior, you may have as many as 5 BP.  If you are wearing armor, you will have up to 3 BP more.  Magical enhancements can increase these points further.

• A successful weapon strike to torso or limb inflicts 1 point of damage.  No damage call is necessary or expected.

• Only one successful melee strike per second counts for damage.  Strikes from the same opponent at a more rapid pace do not inflict more damage.  Try to avoid machine-gunning.

• Ranged weapons also inflict 1 point of damage per hit.  The rate at which you fire must strictly adhere to the rules provided in the skill descriptions.  All ranged weapon projectiles can be blocked by any weapon or shield.

• Head, groin, and hands are not legal weapon strike targets, and you take no damage points if struck there.  However, please do not interpose your hands (or head!) on purpose.

• When you reach 0 (zero) BP, you fall Stunned for 5 minutes, before regaining 1 BP.

• You regain 1 BP every 5 full minutes of uninterrupted relaxation.  This includes points from armor.

• Magical healing may restore your BP faster.

• While you are Stunned, you may not move, and all Life Token(s) and/or magic items you possess may be taken from you by any person that asks you for them.  You should hand them over after waiting a 10 second count.  If you lose your Life Token(s), you immediately become a Spirit that may not participate in any conflict situations.  As a Spirit, you may travel to the Blood Games Office to claim a new Life Token from your sponsoring Realm.

Weapons

Weapons following standard boffer weapon construction rules of Participant LARPs, as well as latex-covered foam and other weapons of similar materials designed explicitly for use in boffer LARP combats are permitted for use in the Blood Games.  Weapons may be any color, with the exception of red.  Red is reserved for claws.

All weapons must undergo a weapon inspection at check-in.  Weapons which are deemed unsafe due to inadequate or deteriorated padding will not be passed for combat use.  If a weapon does not have a 2” open-cell foam tip, such as is the case for most latex foam weapons, it is not allowed to be used in a thrusting attack.  Blood Games officials have the final say on whether a weapon may be used for combat during the Blood Games or not.

Melee weapons fall into three size categories:

• Short: up to 24” in length
• One-Handed: from 24” to 48” in length
• Two-Handed: over 48” in length

Ranged weapons are restricted to the use of soft foam projectiles.  There may be no hard component to a ranged projectile, whether buried inside the projectile (encased in foam) or as part of the body (such as an arrow shaft).  Examples of legal ranged weapon projectiles are:

• Nerf arrows
• Nerf darts
• Adventurer’s Outlet action balls
• Boffer rocks or axes (at least 2” in diameter, constructed of open-cell foam covered in duct tape)
• Soft latex or foam shurikens

All ranged weapons may only have one round of ammunition loaded at any given time.  No multi-shot weapons are allowed.  Since the Blood Games welcomes competitors from all realms, some characters may appear with guns.  The restriction of having only one shot loaded at any time applies in particular to all types of Nerf guns.  Note also that any weapon or shield may block or deflect a ranged projectile from any ranged weapon, causing the attack to miss.

All ranged weapons have a restricted rate of fire, as given by the skill of the character with a ranged weapon.  Since thrown weapons require little time to rearm, strict adherence to your rate of fire with them is of particular importance.

Armor and Shields

Your character may wear armor in the Blood Games, assuming you have purchased the appropriate skill.  Armor increases your BP total.  If you are hurt in combat, armor BP are restored just like normal body points through 5 minutes of relaxation per 1 BP, or by magical Healing.

Armor falls into the following three categories.  If you are not sure what your armor might be rated as, consult a Blood Games official.  The appearance of your armor is important in this consideration!

• Light – soft leather, padded armor, cloth that simulates chain mail.  Adds 1 BP
• Medium – heavy-gauge leather breast-plate, chain mail vest, costume chain mail, armor that looks like metal but is actually plastic or similar material.  Adds 2 BP
• Heavy – protective gear on fore-arms and head, as well as full-length chain mail shirt (steel or aluminum), plate mail, or full-body heavy-gauge leather (torso, shoulders, arms, legs).  Adds 3 BP

Your character may use a shield in combat, if you have purchased the appropriate skill.  Shields may be made of any material, but must have soft 5/8” thick padding around its edge.  You may not use a shield to push, rush, or bash anyone.  Shields come in two size categories:

• Regular – the maximum dimension of the shield measured in any direction is 30”, and the maximum area of the shield is 452 sq. inches.  This allows for a 24” round shield, a heater-style or oval shield 30” in height and about 22” in width, or a rectangular shield 30” in height and 15” in width.
• Large – larger than Regular, but no more than 60” in any dimension

Special Weapon Attacks

• Special weapon attacks are called out by the attacker as follows:

• Damage – must strike a legal target.  The number of damage points is called out with the attack, as in “2 damage”.

• Disarm – must strike a weapon.  You must immediately drop the weapon struck, and may not pick it up again until it has come to a full rest on the ground.  Shields are not affected by Disarm.

• Maim – must strike a limb.  You may not use the limb until you have spent 5 uninterrupted minutes in relaxation.  If your leg is maimed, you may not hop, but may fight on your knees.

• Shatter – must strike a weapon or shield.  You must drop the weapon or shield, and may not use it again until you have spent 5 uninterrupted minutes repairing it.

• Stun – must strike the torso.  You must fall prone and cannot move on your own or take any actions for 5 minutes.

• Special weapon attacks replace the normal damage done by the weapon

• If you are the target of a special weapon attack, you must acknowledge the attack by appropriate role-playing.  If the attack was successful, you must play out the effect.  If the attack missed, you must indicate as appropriate that you blocked the attack, or that it struck an illegal target.  You do not need to go overboard here, as long as it is clear to the attacker that his special attack was appropriately noted.  This is important, since use of special attacks is strictly limited in a battle.  If the target does not perform this acknowledgement, the attacker is allowed to re-use that special attack again.

Spell Casting

Spell casting covers the use of magic incantations which utilize a spell packet to deliver their effect to the target.  The spell incantation is left up to the individual caster, although it should be appropriate to the spell, and be consistent each time the caster incants the spell.  The spell incantation should be at least 7 syllables long, and then conclude with the exact spell effect call as described below.  The incantation must be audible to the target.  After completing the full incantation, the spell caster has one second within which to throw the packet at an unwilling target, or to touch a willing target with it.  The spell takes effect on the target if any body part of the target or object carried by the target is struck by the packet. 

• Damage – The number of damage points is called out with the attack.  An incant might be “By magical fire, burn for 3 damage!”

• Healing –The number of points healed is called out with the incant, as in “3 Healing”.  An incant might by “I call upon the power of Faya! 3 Healing!”

• Remedy Maim – The Maim effect is immediately removed from one maimed limb of the target.

• Remedy Repel – The Repel effect is immediately removed from the target.

• Remedy Root – The Root effect is immediately removed from the target.

• Remedy Shatter – An object affected by Shatter is immediately repaired.  The spell packet must touch the object that has been affected by the Shatter attack.

• Remedy Stun – The Stun effect is immediately removed from the target.

• Repel – The target cannot of his own free will approach the spell caster closer than 10 feet until he has spent 5 uninterrupted minutes relaxing.

• Root – The target may not move his feet until he has spent 5 uninterrupted minutes relaxing.

• Stun – The target must fall prone and cannot move on her own or take any actions for 5 minutes.

A spell packet is constructed using cloth and bird seed.  The birdseed should not contain any sharply pointed kernels, such as sunflowers seeds.  The simplest construction utilizes cloth cut in a square of about 8”, and a couple of heaped tablespoons of seed, formed into a packet with a rubber band.

Crafting

Crafting in the Blood Games covers the creation of magic items which provide enhancements or special effects when used.  Most magic items can be carried around, as well as traded or given away to other players.  All your unused magic items may be taken from you by anyone who spends 10 seconds collecting them from you while you are Stunned.

The limitation on crafting such items is largely given by the component resources required to create them.  If you acquire the necessary components, and have the skill, you can go to the Blood Games office to hand in the components and receive an appropriate magic item tag.

You will need to provide a physical representation (phys rep) of the magic item you have created.  The tag should be attached to the phys rep of the magic item if possible, otherwise at least kept together.  The exact nature and form of the magic item is left to your individual character.  It may be a potion, in which case some kind of vial is appropriate.  It may be a scroll, an herb packet, a powder, a piece of jewelry, etc.  If you are not sure whether something would be appropriate to use as a phys rep of the magic item, just ask a Blood Games official.

Most such magic items are only good for one use, and thus are used up when activated.  The use of the magic item should involve role playing appropriate to the form of the magic item.  After use, the tag describing the magic item should be returned to a Blood Games official or an official return box placed for this purpose in the Tavern.  The phys rep should be returned to the creator, unless she has told you otherwise.

Most magic items have effects similar to the spells described previously.  However, there are some magic items which have no parallel in spells:

• Enhanced Body – This magic item provides one transient additional BP to the user.  The enhanced BP is lost first in combat, and cannot be healed or restored through rest.  You can have at most three Enhanced Body magic items active at any one time.

• Melee Damage – This magic item provides the recipient with the ability to strike once with a melee weapon for “2 damage” or “5 damage”.  You can have at most three Melee Damage items active at any one time, and may choose when to use them. 

• Resistance – This item provides the user with the ability to completely avoid the effects of one called Special Weapon Attack or Spell.  The recipient must call out “Resist” within 3 seconds, which negates the effect of the attack, and uses up the Resistance.  You can have at most three Resistance magic items active at any one time, and may choose when to utilize them.

• Safe Ward – This magic item protects a small area, such as a cabin or tent, from combat.  This is described in the section on Safe Wards.  The tag for this item is a yellow triangle, and no further phys rep is required.

• Spell Damage – This magic item provides the recipient with the ability to throw a spell packet for “3 damage” or “5 damage”.  You must throw the packet immediately after activating the item.  The normal spell incantation is replaced by the appropriate role-playing for activating the magic item.  Optionally, as appropriate to the magic item, you may elaborate on the damage when you call it, such as “Fire 3 damage”.

Life Tokens and Prestige

Life Tokens are the vital energy of the Blood Games.  Your character starts game with a Life Token, and may lose it or acquire others as you participate in the event.  Your character must at all times have a Life Token in order to be an active participant in the Blood Games.  The Life Token must be worn openly for anyone to see.  If you currently possess more than one Life Token, perhaps due to capture from someone you have defeated, you must display all of them openly.

Life Tokens are the currency of the Blood Games.  You may capture Life Tokens, acquire them as rewards, hand them in for Prestige, or trade them away.  You are not allowed to voluntarily trade or give away your Life Token if it is your last one.  All your Life Tokens may be taken from you by anyone who spends 10 seconds collecting them from you while you are Stunned.

If you do not have a Life Token, you are a spirit.  As spirit, you may still interact and role-play with other characters, but you may not use any in-game skills, or participate in any combat or other competition.  In general, as a spirit you should eventually make your way to the Blood Games office to acquire a new Life Token.

When you create your Character, it can be affiliated to a Realm.  During the Voice’s Reception on the first evening of the event, you may choose an affiliation if you have not done so beforehand.  If you have no particular Realm that your character wishes to belong to, then the Realm of Waxaxclajuun, host of the Blood Games, welcomes you to its team as an affiliate.  You may make your selection at the Voice’s Reception, or at check-in the following morning.  By the beginning of the Opening Ceremonies the next morning you must be affiliated to a Realm.  The affiliation is permanent for the duration of the Blood Games. 

Whenever you receive a Life Token from the Blood Games office, including the first Life Token you receive at check-in, you are drawing against the Life Token total of your Realm.  A Realm’s Life Token total starts the Blood Games at a value equal to thrice its affiliated members.  Each Life Token a Realm hands out to its affiliated characters, whether at check-in or to return a spirit to active status, subtracts from the Realm’s Life Token total. 

At any time during the Blood Games, you may go to the Blood Games office to hand in any Life Tokens you have acquired.  These Life Tokens are added to the Life Token total of your Realm. 

During the Blood Games, if a Realm’s Life Token total ever falls below zero, it is Drained and cannot grant its affiliated characters any more Life Tokens.  In order for those characters to return from spirit status, the Realm must forfeit its chance at the Prestige Trophy and swear fealty to another Realm.  This requires agreement by a majority of all Realm members.  If a Realm remains Drained for longer than 4 hours without agreeing to swear fealty to another Realm, the Blood Games officials will have the right to make a decision as to which Realm the Drained Realm swears fealty to.  All characters affiliated with the Drained Realm must hand in all Life Tokens they still possess.  They will be affiliated to the new Realm, and issued new Life Tokens from it.  They may henceforth receive Life Tokens from it or deposit Life Tokens to it.

Each Realm has a Prestige total that derives from the Life Tokens that have been turned in to it, minus those withdrawn for spirits.  Life Tokens are the measure by which the most prestigious prize of the Blood Games will be won: the Prestige Trophy.  The Prestige Trophy is awarded at the end of the Blood Games to the Realm that has the highest Prestige.  It is of course advisable throughout the weekend to collect Life Tokens and hand them in, until the final Grand Melee, when all participants will be on the field to acquire their final Life Tokens.

Safe Wards

The Blood Games can be a dangerous place, since everyone is looking out for the opportunity to increase the Prestige of their Realm, and garner Life Tokens for it.  However, there are magical wards which can be placed to create safe areas, where no combat may take place, and no Life Tokens may be taken.  These magic items are called Safe Wards, and take the form of a yellow triangle.  They may be placed upon the entrance to any small enclosure, such as a tent or cabin.  Once placed, these Safe Wards may not be removed by anyone other than a Blood Games official, and they remain active throughout the whole event.

Character Creation

Characters for the Blood Games can be created from scratch, or you may bring any character you have played in any LARP.  If you bring a character from another LARP, the directors of that LARP must validate your character’s experience with us.  If the LARP is listed as a Participant LARP, just have one of the directors drop us an e-mail.  Otherwise please have the directors get in touch with us, so we can get them set up as a Participant LARP.  In order to bring in such an experienced character it is highly advisable to pre-register, since getting the validation from that LARP's directors during check-in on site is likely to be quite difficult.  Please also peruse the Logistics section and read up on Factions, Houses, and Realms, so that you may define your character’s allegiance.

The advantage of bringing an existing character is simple – you get to start with more in-game skills.  However, in keeping with the spirit of the Blood Games, the skill level differential between characters will be relatively small.  The number of character points (CP) you get for creating your character are:

         Novice Character:  15 CP

         Established Character, played in 2-5 weekend-long events:  20 CP

         Veteran Character, played in 6 or more weekend-long events:  25 CP

Note that we expect a character created based on an existing LARP character to select skills and exhibit behavior which are appropriate to that LARP character!

Skills

Use the character points (CP) you have available to purchase skills for your character.  All in-game actions covered in the prior sections on Weapons, Special Attacks, Armor and Shields, Spell Casting, and Crafting require purchase of one or more skills in order for your character to use them in the Blood Games.

Many of the combat skills include in their description the term “Once Per Battle”.  This means that purchase of that skill allows your character to use the skill ability once, and you must then rest for at least 5 uninterrupted minutes of relaxation before you could use the skill again.  Such skills may be purchased more than once, in which case you may use them accordingly more than once per battle.